Die insert



May 4, 1943. F. P. GARDNER DIE INSERT Filed June 17, 1941 I 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. IO

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INVENTOR FRANK F. GARDNER (9 ATTORNEYS Patented May 4, 1943 STAT S esOFFICE Original application December 1,1939, Serial No'. 307,054.Divided and this application June 17, 1941, Serial No. 398,454

(01. ve -i) Claims.

This invention relates to dies, and more particularly to bushings orinserts for dies. ,7 I

The primary object of the present invention is to generally improveandto facilitate and cheapen the manufacture of dies. In many cases apiece being made in the die must be provided with one or several slotsof standard character. one example is a rectangular slot, such as iscommonly used for tongue and slot connections between the parts of toys,electrical appliances, and other sheet metal products. Other examplesare a keyhole slot and a slip-over or bayonet slot.

The main the block may be drilled to forfn a cylindrical hole which islater fitted withan insert, the insert having a die openingcorresponding to the desired slot. The construction of the inserts byordinary toolroom practice is troublesome.- It is also difiicult toproperly orientate the insert in the die. 7 a g a, a

One object of the present invention is to make possible ineiipensive andrapidproduction of the inserts. Another object is to provide the insertswith keys for properly orientating the same in the die. A further objectis to provide a suitable tool for forming a keyway in the die, saidkeyway mating with the insert key and being prope'rly located tosuitably orientate the punch hole in the die. The latter object is theparticular subject of the present application, the other subject matterbeing clairned in mi Parent application, Serial No. 307,054, filedDecemher 1, 1939, of which the present application is a division.

,To the accomplishinent of the foregoingand such other objects as mayhereinafter appear, my invention consists in the tool and die elementsand their relation one to the other, as hereinafter are moreparticularly described in the specification and sought to be definedinthe claims. The specification is accornpanied by drawings, in which: I

Fig. l is a section through apparatus for forming the die insert; I

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the die insert with the halves spacedapart; a

Fig. 4 is a partially sectioned perspective view showing the manner inwhich the die insert is received in a die;

Fig. 5 represents a piece of stock having slots punched therethrough; H

Fig.6 is a planVieW of a simple form of die r make the piece shown inFig. 5;

Fig. 7 illustrates a standardforin of slet frequently required in avariety of work;

Fig. 8 illustrates still another such slot;

Fi 9 is a front elevation of the reciprocable portion of a tool forforming the keyway in the die;

Fig. is a side elevation of the same; v

Fig. llis a front elevation-oi a stationary loeating plate forming apart of the aforesaid tool;

Fig. 12 is an end elevation of thesarne;

Fig. 13 is a Bottom view of the complete tool; and

Fig. 14 shows the worm use. I I a l v Referring to the drawings, andmore particularly to Fig. 5, there is frequent occasion to form asiinple rectangular slot, such as, the slot l2, in a piece of stock orsheet inetal l4. These slots are conirnonly used for tongue and slot connections', as on toys, electrical appliances and other sheet metalproducts. In Fig. 5 the piece I4 is provided with eight such slots. Theslots thefnselves are relatively standardized in character, and it isonly the locationef the same that must be suitably Varied by thetoolmaker when constructing a die. There are other slots which arerelatively Standardized iii haiaiit'r and which are frequentlyencountered by" tool makers. Thus, there is the fslip-over or hayehe'tslot shown in Fig. 7, and the keyhole slotsho'wn in Fig. 8. Therectangular Slot I! Will: be discussed as a typical example of astandard slot, the need for which is frequently encountered.

In aoCOrdalhCe With my irivntibll, Standardized bushings or inserts aremade, SUCH as that illustrated in Fig. 3. These are made llfidr quantityproduction conditions and may be sold as a finished article to smallershops for use as the need arises. The bushing or insert. is inadeup oftWO segments 6i Semi-cylindrical halves l6 and I8 which may be puttogether in face to face relation td form a complete cylindrical bush ngor insert, as is shown in Fig. 4. ear of the insert is provided with agroove or channel 20. At the upper end of the insert these channels makeup a die opening 22 diniensioned to just receive a mating punch and tothereby form one of the desired slots l2. From theopening- 22 thechannels 20 diverge downwardly, thereby forming an enlarged passage forreadily discharging the scrap cutaway by the punch. At their lower endsthe halvesof the insert are provided with outwardly projectingintegrally formed keys E l. These are preferably formed by indenting themetal at 25, thereby providing the necessary metal for the keys 2t.

The keys may differ in shape. The illustrated key is an angle key, but aradius key may be provided or even a square key. The angle key ispreferred merely because it is the simplest to form, and its matingkeyway is also easy to form.

The preferred method for making the insert is illustrated in Figs. 1 and2 of the drawings. I provide a die 28 and a hob 30. Die 28 may bemounted in a suitable holder 32, and hob 30 may be mounted in a suitableholder 34. Holder 32 is provided with guide pins 35 slidably received inmating holes in the holder 34. The die 28 is provided with asemi-cylindrical trough adapted to receive a piece of half-round stockhaving a length twice the desired length of the insert. It isadditionally provided with a recess 38 for forming the keys 24. The hob30 is dimensioned to form the grooves or channels 20. The hob is smallat its ends and enlarged at the center, thereby providing the desireddivergence or enlargement of channels 2!). The hob is further providedwith a projection 45) which displaces metal at the points 26 (Fig. 3) inorder to force metal into the recess 38 and thereby form the keys 24.

It will be understood that a piece of half-round stock in unhardenedcondition is placed in die 28 and operated upon by hob 30, the entirehobbing tool being mounted in a suitable hydraulic press of sufficientcapacity to perform the desired operation without difficulty. The formedpiece is then removed from the die. If necessary, as when the amount ofmetal displaced by the hob is large, the face of the piece is machinedto remove any excess metal. The piece is then cut transversely acrossthe center to form the two halves shown in Fig. 3. When these are placedtogether, in face to face relation, they constitute a single cylindricalinsert or bushing.

For a toolmaker having a supplyof the standard bushings on hand, it is avery simple matter to make a die for stamping the piece shown in Fig. 5.Thus, referring to Fig. 6 the toolmaker first prepares a die block 42and drills holes through the same of suitable size to receive theinserts. Each hole is, of course, centered at the desired location ofthe slot. Additional holes for guide pins may, of course, be provided,as is indicated at 44. The location of the piece of stock relative tothe inserts is schematically indicated by the broken line 46.

The only remaining problem is to form the keyways to receive the keys24, which keys properly orientate the inserts, for this in turndetermines the orientation of the slots.

In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, I providespecial mechanism for readily forming and properly orientating thekeyways. Referring to Figs. 9 through 14 the complete tool preferablycomprises a punch-like reciprocable portion generally designated 50, anda stationary locating plate 52 through which the tool is slidable.

Tool 58 comprises a cylindrical pilot 54 having a diameter very slightlysmaller than the diameter of the insert. The part 54 is intended to beslidably received in the hole in the die, which later receives theinsert with a force fit. The tool 59 further comprises key portions 56which are shaped like the keys 24 (Fig. 3) of the insert. Tool 50further comprises a locator portion 58 which is of non-circular sectionand, specifically in the present case, rectangular in cross-section.Above the locator portion 58 there is an enlargement 60, the bottom 62of which acts as a stop surface to limit the downward movement of thetool.

The plate 52 is a rectangular plate having a rectangular hole 64therethrough, said hole being dimensioned to accurately slidably receivethe locating portion 53 of tool 50. The bottom view of Fig. 13 shows thepilot portion 54, the key portions 56 and the locating portion 58 whichcorresponds to the hole 64.

Referring now to Fig. 14 after a die block 66 has been provided with theholes 68 for receiving inserts, the block is turned upside down andplate 52 is placed thereover and preferably clamped in proper positionto suitably fix the i direction of th key-forming portions 56 on thetool 50. The pilot portion 54 moves into the hole 68 as the tool 50 isforced downwardly, it being understood that the enlarged top 50 of thetool is secured to the vertically reciprocable ram 10 of any suitablemechanical or hydraulic press. In Fig. 14 the tool 50 has descended to apoint where it is about to begin formin the keyway The tool is forceddownwardly by the press until the stop surface 62 reaches and bearsagainst the locating plate 52. At this time the keyways are of correctdepth and the thickness of plate 52 is selected with that purpose inmind.

The left-hand hole 68 in Fig. 14 has already been treated by tool 50,and the keyways 12 have already been formed therein. The center hole 68is being treated, and th right-hand hole has yet to be worked upon. Itwill be understood that the plate 52 is moved from hole to hole, andthat the die block 66 is moved to bring each hole under the tool 50. Theplate 52 serves two purposes; first, for properly orientating thekeyways in order to insure proper position of the slot when one of thepreviously prepared inserts or bushings is placed in the die; andsecond, to limit the downward movement of the tool 50 in order toaccurately determine the depth and dimension of the keyways, so that thekeys will be received therein with an exact fit.

It is believed that the method of making and using my improved diinserts, and of preparing a die to receive the same, as well as the manyadvantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detaileddescription. Standardized inserts may be made up for the more popular orcommon kinds of slot. A number of difierent sizes of slot may be made ina single size of in-, sert, and several different sizes of insert may bemade to accommodate a still larger range of slot size. In every case thekeys are formed integrally on the insert and are related in astandardized way to the direction of the slot or punch hole in theinsert. By maufacturing the inserts as a stock proposition, they may bemade up rapidly and cheaply, particularly if made by hobbing, as heredisclosed. The toolmaker in making up a die has only to drill a hole ofsuitable size for the insert, and to then form the keyways. The latteroperation can be accomplished quickly and inexpensively by using aspecial tool for the purpose. The appropriate insert is thereupon forcedinto the die block, thus completing the die.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my inventionin a preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, as sought to be. defined inthe following claims.

I claim:

1. A tool for forming keyways in adie having a hole for receiving a dieinsert having keys to properly orientate the insert, said toolcomprising a pilot portion dimensioned to be received in the hole,key-forming portions to form the desired keyways, a non-circularlocating portion thereabove, and a plate having a, non-circular openingdimensioned to slidably but non-rotatably receive the non-circularlocating portion, the disposition of said plate on a die serving todetermine the orientation of the keyways.

2. A tool for forming keyways in a die having a hole for receiving a dieinsert having keys to properly orientat the insert, said tool comprisinga pilot portion dimensioned to be received in the hole, key-formingportions to form the desired keyways, a non-circular locating portionthereabove, a stop surface above said locating portion, a plate having anon-circular opening dimensioned to slidably but non-rotatably receivethe non-circular locating portion, said plate having a thickness such asto limit the stroke of the tool to the desired amount, the dispositionof said plate on a die serving to determine the orientation of thekeyways.

3. A tool for forming keyways in a die having a, hole for receiving adie insert having keys to properly orientate the insert, said toolcomprising key-forming portions to form the desired keyways, anon-circular locating portion thereabove, a plate having a non-circularopening dimensioned to slidably but non-rotatably receive thenon-circular locating portion, the disposition of said plate on a dieserving "to determine the orientation of the keyways.

4. A tool for forming keyways in a die having a hole for receiving a dieinsert having keys to properly orientate the insert, said toolcomprising key-forming portions to form the desired keyways, anon-circular locating portion thereabove, a stop surface above saidlocating portion, a plate having a non-circular opening dimensioned toslidably but non-rotatably receive the non-circular locating portion,said plate having a thickness such as to limit the stroke of the tool tothe desired amount, the disposition of said plate on a die serving todetermine the orientation of the keyways.

5. A tool and stop plate for forming keyways in a die having a hole forreceiving a die insert having keys to properly orientate the insert,said tool comprising a pilot portion dimensioned to be received in thehole, key-forming portions to form the desired keyways, and a stopsurface above said locating portion, said stop plate cooperating Withsaid stop surface and having a thickess such as to limit the effectivestroke of the tool to the desired amount in order to deter- FRANK P.GARDNER.

